House plants add colour and create a relaxing environment

Many house plants can adapt to challenging indoor environments. If your home is short of sunlight or you have little time for watering, there is still a house plant for you. The secret is to choose a house plant that fits both with your lifestyle and your home.

Considerations before buying

First, you should determine how your lifestyle will effect the care of the plants. If you lead a busy life, you should choose more hearty and resilient plants. If you are home more often, you can choose a house plant that requires more maintenance and care.

Second, consider the lighting in your home. Some plants prefer a place with direct sunlight, others will thrive with only artificial light.

Third, consider the size of the plant when mature. Your plant may look great in a hallway when purchased, but it could soon become an obstruction as it grows.

After you carefully consider these factors, you can pick out plants that will look great and grow well in your home.

Plants for a busy lifestyle

If you have a very busy schedule, consider house plants that require little maintenance, such as a jade plant, spider plant, or ZZ plant. These plants are striking and require little watering, fertilizing or natural light.

The jade plant produces beautiful foliage that only becomes more attractive with age. The spider plant produces small white flowers and prefers bright but indirect sunlight. The ZZ plant is a great accent plant and tolerates low light, rarely needs fertilizing, and is very forgiving if you forget to water.

These plants are a pleasant and great alternative to the traditional cactus plant, which are commonly thought to be the only plants that grow with little sun or water.

Plants for low or artificial light

Low light simply means very little sunlight. Low light locations often get only morning sunlight, which is much cooler than afternoon sun. Areas of the home such as the bathroom, hallways, and poorly lit rooms may only give plants artificial sunlight.

In areas that are poorly lit, try using fluorescent lights. They provide the type of light necessary for photosynthesis. Using artificial light, you can grow many beautiful flowering houseplants. Plants that thrive on low or artificial light include dracaena, orchids, calathea, and haworthia.

Size of plants

House plants vary in size from a tiny cactus to a rather large yucca. Many house plants will need to be re-potted over time as they continue to thrive and grow within your home.

Before purchasing any house plant, consider the space where it will be in your home and determine the maximum size your plant can grow healthily. Once you have decided upon the maximum size, you can confidently choose the perfect plant for your space.

Some heroic house plants can survive and even thrive in conditions that would be fatal for most flowers. If you have the Chuck Norris touch with plants and kill everything in site, meet your match with these hardy house plants.

Cactus - stores water and food for desert living
Photo by Ken Bosma

Jade plant - happy with little sunlight or water
Photo by Matt Baume

Snake plant - survives in all environments
Photo by Carl E Lewis

Spider plants - a reliable plant that just keeps growing
Photo by Valerie Everett

Wandering Jew - pretty and incredibly low maintenance
Photo by Jason Hollinger

ZZ plant - requires very little light and water
Photo by Jukka Heinonen

Bromeliad - needs sunlight but very easy to water
Photo by Cori Redford

African violet - extremely hardy, needs sparse light and watering
Photo by Sonja McAllister

Download this free Easy Guide to Growing Houseplants to discover the secrets behind successful indoor gardening.

Plants are a great way to bring the freshness of the outdoors into your home. This guide gives you tips on what kind of houseplants you should be looking for and explains how you can provide the perfect conditions for them to thrive.

Click here to download The Easy Guide to Growing Houseplants (PDF)